


see the light

by deaddybear



Series: nickles week [2]
Category: Metalocalypse (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, kissins, lantern festival, nickles week 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29475225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaddybear/pseuds/deaddybear
Summary: nathan and pickles go to a totally not-brutal lantern festival
Relationships: Nathan Explosion/Pickles the Drummer
Series: nickles week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166852
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	see the light

**Author's Note:**

> for nickles week 2021 day 2, "summer or winter!" i picked summer :)

Nathan has never thought he’d end up kissing Pickles before. Okay, well. Maybe he has, like. When his brain was too drunk or tired or swooning to filter out the unwanted gay thoughts for his drummer. But even then, it was only ever a fleeting, stupid daydream that he knew he’d never act on. One of those dumb ideas where you know that there’s no way in hell you’d ever actually go for it in real life.

Not until today, that is. 

It’s just...it’s hot. Outside. Which is expected, because it’s summertime in Hawaii, but it’s not Nathan’s fault that their friender-bender ended up hitting right during the summer solstice. The island they’re on is having one of those dumb lantern festivals at sunset - Nathan usually likes his parties dark and brooding, indoors and underground and far away from weirdos he doesn’t know. So naturally, this festival should be the bane of his existence. However. 

“Aw, dood, we should like—we should fuckin’ do it all in pentagrams,” Pickles had held out the paper lantern that the two of them are going to be sending off, and he looked so eager than Nathan just nodded right along with him. 

“Yeah. Pentagrams are brutal.” 

“Totally brutal!” Pickles beamed in agreement, scribbling on the side of the lantern as his studded tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth. “Y’gahtta sign yer name next t’mine when I’m done with this shit, Nate’n. I’m fuckin’ psyched!” 

Okay, but _why_. Why is Pickles wanting to go to this. Nathan couldn’t figure it out, and he spent the rest of the day kind of moping around about having to leave their admittedly cozy little shack. They had a good thing going there - all the booze they could drink, a hot tub that’s small enough that it gives their bare shoulders an excuse to press together, and Pickles had accidentally got a room with a single king bed instead of two, so. It’s hot outside, but never too hot for some bro-on-bro snuggling, apparently. Waking up with Pickles curled up on his chest like a ferret does not bother Nathan as much as it probably should. 

But now. Here they are. The sun has just about completely set, and the two of them are sitting on the ocean in this little boat that Nathan is pretty sure will sink at any moment due to his hulking weight, but...surprisingly, it isn’t so bad. Pickles is sitting across from him, all decked out in a Hawaiian grass crown and a lei of flowers dangling from his neck over his bare chest, these gaudy tropical shorts on, and he looks so goddamn cute that Nathan has come dangerously close to being caught staring multiple times. The two of them amiably pass a bottle of vodka back and forth, one of Pickles’ bare feet curled against Nathan’s ankle. 

“Is something, uh. Going to happen,” Nathan raised an eyebrow at his friend, taking a long swig from the bottle as he watches the darkened horizon for some sort of action. 

“Yeeah, dood. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait,” Pickles grins lazily, chin in his palm as he extends a grabby hand for Nathan to pass back the vodka. 

“And there’s like....no blood or guts or island sacrifice involved?” Nathan frowns as Pickles’ laughs and shakes his head. He mutters, “Doesn’t sound brutal.” 

“It’s brutal, but like. In a pretty wey,” Pickles says, and Nathan’s first thought is _‘like you,’_ but he keeps himself from saying it. God, with every friender-bender they go on, his annoying gay thoughts just keep getting worse. “I came to one’a dese festivals back when I was tourin’ with Snakes...we had a gig when it was first starting up, ‘n my manager wouldn’t let me stey ‘n watch...but I saw it over the tahp of Aloha Stadium, right? Fuckin’ amazing.” 

Nathan can’t really figure out what’s so amazing about a bunch of paper lanterns, but. Pickles is still doing that cute-excited thing, so he doesn’t question it. He just looks at the slope of Pickles’ nose as he tilts the bottle back, drinking the last of it before letting it roll to the floor of their little boat, wiping his mouth off on his left wristband. 

“Oh, hey,” Nathan breathes, as the first lantern floats right past Pickles’ head, golden and glowing like a dream. 

“Whet? Did it start?” Pickles asks, turning around, and the two of them sit there in awe as lanterns are suddenly everywhere - spilling out of the boats, floating as they’re released on land - and Nathan is at a loss. The warm lights illuminate the ocean so brightly around them that it’s almost like it’s sunset again - they light up the island, the palm trees, Pickles’ excited eyes as his fingers reach out to brush one as it passes by. It’s...Pickles was right, it’s amazing. Usually, he doesn’t like things that aren’t gorey and violent and brutal - but this...

“Dood, dood, lets fuckin’ do ours,” Pickles grins, turning back around and bare knees knocking against Nathan’s as he reaches down and brings up their lantern from the floor of the boat. Nathan hasn’t really gotten a chance to look at it yet - sure enough, it’s covered in pentagrams, a little doodle of Pickles thrashing on the drums next to a doodle of Murderface in a pile of hot dogs. A list of Pickles’ favorite booze scribbled down, that goes so far down the lantern that it bleeds off the paper. It’s so endearingly Pickles, and it makes Nathan’s heart hammer in his chest. 

As Pickles lights it up, Nathan notices something else. At the very bottom, underneath a sloppily written ‘friender-bender album 5’ to commemorate their trip, he sees it. ‘PTD + NE,’ and his pounding heart actually stops in his chest as he lifts his eyes up to where Pickles sits across from him. 

“Y’fergaht to sign,” Pickles smiles sheepishly at him, face flushing underneath the glowing lights, and even with a million beautiful floating lights around him Nathan can’t stop staring at him. He looks like a drummer-turned-angel, bathing in the warm colors of the lights all around them, green eyes glowing and that crooked grin on his face much softer than usual. Nathan’s eyes drag from his grass crown lopsided on his head to the freckles on his bare chest, and he feels like he’s swallowing his own tongue as Pickles offers him one end of the lantern. 

“Ready?” Pickles asks, both of their hands on either end, and Nathan nods once before they both send it off into the sky. They both tilt their faces up, watching it disappear with the rest of them, the ‘PTD + NE’ lost with thousands of other scribbled declarations of love. Because that’s what it was, wasn’t it? Nathan wishes he could reach back out and keep it, holding it against his heart and swallow it into himself. 

“There she goes, we hardly knew ‘er,” Pickles blows a kiss to their lantern, and then his hand falls on Nathan’s knee. His voice is soft, as their eyes snap to each other, “Thanks for doin’ this with me, Nate’n. I always wanted to watch this with someone....worth watchin’ it with, y’know?” 

This is the moment. The moment where Nathan doesn’t just think he’s going to kiss Pickles - he knows he’s going to kiss him, and he’s genuinely terrified but he can’t hold himself back anymore. “Pickles,” he says in a gravelly whisper, their knees still touching as one of his hands settles on his drummer’s warm face, and the glow of the lanterns envelops them as they both lean in, meeting in the middle for their lips to connect in the exciting perfection of a first, epic kiss. 

Nathan had always thought that if the two of them were to succumb to the tension that’s lingered around them for the span of their friendship, it would be more uncontrollable and violently passionate, maybe, when something finally snapped. But this. It’s still passionate, but it’s...it’s so soft. He wouldn’t have expected Pickles to be so gentle, as his small hands pull him closer and his studded tongue slowly slides against his own. They come back for air for just a second, Pickles’ hazy eyes tearing him to pieces under the warmth of the lights, their noses brushing, and Nathan growls helplessly before moving back in and kissing him again. 

The kiss in the boat until the lamps are just tiny specks in the night sky, and Nathan is dumb and swooning when they finally have to separate. Pickles sighs like having to stop kissing him is the hardest thing he’s ever done, thumbing Nathan’s cheekbone as the two of them part. 

“Where d’ya think our lantern went?” Pickles asks, voice barely above a whisper as the two of them look at the dark sky above. “Meybe it’ll end back up at Mordhaus.” 

“Yeah,” Nathan hears himself mutter, and he hopes it does, honestly, because he’d really like the souvenir. “Hey. Pickles?” 

His drummer look at him, eyes soft, “Yeeah, Nate’n?” 

Nathan mutters, face flushing. “I, uh. Wanted to...do that. For a while.” 

“Me fuckin’ too, dood. Gahd,” Pickles laughs, drumming a pattern on Nathan’s knee. He looks over at him with a nervous, crooked grin, “We could, y’know. Do thet some more when we get back, if y’want.” 

God, does he want. Nathan feels a smile fight it’s way to his face, and he watches the last couple lanterns float away as he starts to row them back to shore. When they get back to their shack, they barely make it through the door before they’re kissing again, and Nathan has never been more thankful for the non-brutality of summer as they melt into each other.  



End file.
